Giuseppe Creatore

Giuseppe Creatore , called the Great Creatore, was an Italian bandmaster in Italy and the United States. He was born in Naples, Italy, on June 21, 1871, and died in New York City on August 15, 1952. Creatore's fame rivaled that of John Philip Sousa, and he was known for performances that were engaging for both their showmanship and musicianship. The music critic of the Kansas City Journal provides a colorful description of Creatore's stage presence: "Creatore starts the band in a mild, entreating way. A simple uplifting of the arms. Then suddenly, with a wild shake of his shaggy head, he springs across the stage with the ferocity of a wounded lion. Crash! Bang! And a grand volume of sound chocks the hall from pit to dome."

Career Creatore studied trombone and conducting with Nicola D'Arienzo and Camillo de Nardis at the Conservatorio di San Pietro a Majella. In 1887, at the young age of 17, he accepted a position to direct the Naples Military Band. but also for Edison Records, Paramount Records, and Columbia Records.

In 1931, he conducted a series of open air concerts for a symphony orchestra, and in 1937 conducted the New York State Symphonic Band and the New York Symphonic Orchestra in a succession of programs sponsored by the government Works Progress Administration. That position ended in 1940 after a disagreement ensued between Creatore and the WPA.

After a seven-year retirement, Creatore returned to the stage in 1947 to conduct a pop concert for the New York Symphonic Band on Randall Island. He died in 1952, leaving behind Rosina, his wife, and children: Tommaso and Peter (from an earlier marriage), Ezio, Carlo, Luigi, and Alba.

In popular culture Creatore is one of the bandleaders mentioned by "Professor" Harold Hill in the song "Seventy-Six Trombones" in the play and film The Music Man.